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Return to Learn Weekly, from UC San Diego

December 9, 2021

In Case You Missed It

Stay Vigilant this Holiday Season

The UC San Diego campus remains one of the safest places to be with a less than 1% positivity rate. Daily discussions are happening among university experts about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and variants; there have not been any Omicron cases detected in San Diego County to date. Should cases increase or the variant arrive, we are confident in our ability to respond and have established a flexible infrastructure to effectively protect the health of our campus community. 
We recognize that many are experiencing pandemic fatigue, and we thank all Tritons for their collective efforts to care for their peers and colleagues. Please see a few reminders here: 

Testing and Vaccination Clinic Holiday Closures

Price Center Testing and Vaccination Clinic
  • Dec. 17: Open until Noon
  • Dec. 24, 25 and 31: Closed
COVID-19 Test Kit Vending Machines, Wastewater, and Lab Testing
  • Dec 18-24: Single pick up of vending machine samples (pick-up happens at 2pm) with ongoing wastewater and lab testing.
  • Dec. 25: No vending machine sample pick-ups, wastewater testing or lab testing.
  • Dec. 26-30: Single pick up of vending machine samples (pick-up happens at 2pm) with ongoing wastewater and lab testing.
  • Dec. 31: No vending machine sample pick-ups, wastewater testing or lab testing.
UC San Diego Health and hospitals will remain operational during the curtailment period.
Graphic featuring a robot to promote the campaign to get 10,000 students to receive a COVID-19 booster shot

Protect Yourself, Provide for Others

Nearly 6K Tritons have already answered the Chancellor’s challenge to get 10K students boosted in support of the entire Triton community’s health and well-being. Upon achieving this goal, the Basic Needs Hub will receive $50K in additional funding from Chancellor Khosla to support food security, housing resources and financial wellness for all Tritons. Students can also upload their vaccination info if received from another provider.
Schedule Your Shot Now

Upcoming Town Halls

Faculty & Research Town Hall

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022 
10:30 a.m.
Join us as campus leaders share updates on the Return to Learn program and address your questions related to campus operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Register
Dr. David Pride, associate professor of pathology at UC San Diego School of Medicine Dr. Davey Smith, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine

UC San Diego Experts Weigh in On Omicron

Associate Professor of Microbiology David Pride, MD, PhD, recently spoke with CBS8 News about the university's wastewater monitoring success in identifying the presence of variants; thus far, Omicron has not been detected.
And as the holidays near, Head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health Davey Smith, MD, MAS, shared guidance with ABC10 News about what precautions to take to stay healthy, including getting a COVID-19 booster as well as a flu vaccination. 

Your Questions Answered

Question: If COVID-19 booster shots are recommended, does that mean the vaccines are not working? 
Answer: According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are working well to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant. However, public health experts are starting to see reduced protection, especially among certain populations, against mild and moderate disease. 
Vaccine effectiveness studies provide a growing body of evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines offer similar protection in real-world conditions as they have in clinical trial settings, reducing the risk of COVID-19, including severe illness by 90 percent or more among people who are fully vaccinated.
Question: Are COVID-19 booster shots the same formulation as existing vaccines?
Answer: Yes. COVID-19 booster shots are the same formulation as the current COVID-19 vaccines. However, in the case of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster shot, it is half the dose of the vaccine people get for their primary series. To learn more, visit the CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots webpage.
Question: Is free COVID-19 testing still available for UC San Diego campus community members?
Answer: Yes, UC San Diego offers an ongoing testing program for all University community members. Tests can be completed at no cost to employees and students through UC San Diego Health and Student Health Services. 
Access to COVID-19 testing is available through self-administered kits retrieved from campus vending machines (no appointment needed); provider-observed self-administered testing at Price Center (appointment needed); or provider-administered testing via drive thru (appointment needed).
See more on the Return to Learn Questions and Answers webpage.
If you have specific questions or would like to submit feedback about the Return to Learn program, please email rtl@ucsd.edu.
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093
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